Still number one ! A visual look at incarceration rates. We will be #1 forever. We should toss in our bankers and politicians for good measure

We incarcerate at nearly 100x the rate of Scandinavian countries.

Think you haven't been forced into the ghetto yet?

Naughty Monkey

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Australia seems to be following that trend. Australia could hardly be described a police state...and there may be many factors that contribute to increased rates of incarceration. One of those factors may be an over emphasis on penal systems as places for punishment rather than rehabilitation. That seems to be more so the case with penal institutions that are privatised and function more like storage depots than rehabilitative places where serious effort is put into reducing recidivism.

The other possible contributors to increased incarceration rates are, the adoption of mandatory detention regimes (regardless of their demonstrated effectiveness in actually reducing crime or reoffending)...and periodic law and order auctions by political parties when placed under pressure to win elections by showing that they are "tough on crime".

Rules are for the guidance of the wise, and the blind obedience of fools. - unsourced

To deny your oppressor's, or your own humanity is to descend into barbarism. - V. Chelloveck

Survival is a battle for the mind...mainly one's own. - V. Chelloveck

A beautiful idea founded on faulty reasoning is like a turd wrapped in gold foil, tinsel and glitter. Neither are wholesome if swollowed whole! - V. Chelloveck

What is a religion, but a cult with a larger following and a veneer of respectability. - V.C.

Wackenhut (now GEO Group Inc) and CCA are 2 of the largest Private Correctional Facility operators in the states.

They have absolutely NO Incentive to rehabilitate. They get paid for bodies in the cells. Why would they ever want an inmate to get out?

I wonder if they have their own PAC and slush fund for bribing public officials?
(Please note that the above sentence was a question not a statement .. just in case there are any gov't types in attendance .. no libel here .. carry on)

Seriously though. As our Devils Advocate mentioned, Mandatory sentences. In my opinion, it makes it easy for corp amerika to project their profits for the next few quarters, Thus making it an easy sell get more funding for expansion .

Two words: Public Executions.
That in and of itself would curb quite a bit of criminal behavior.
Besides, hangings used to be a community event, with picnics, dancing, the whole bit.

"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail."- Ben Franklin

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - Robert A. Heinlein - "Time Enough For Love"

I have a universal translator. A large bore rifle. It speaks louder than words and will translate you to the afterlife instantly. - Self

Don't forget the reason the arrest rate is so high as fast as thugs are locked up sharp dressed lawyers on the working mans dime and liberal judges let them go. I see it every day, pick one out of the crowd and do a check and see haow many times in a year that same person has been locked up, ti's public record. I have arrested the same guy five times for the same type of crime (Buglary) in a week and he would beat me back to the County out on bond. If we enforced our laws like other Countries cut the hands off for stealing, shoot child molesters and rapist they would think twice before comitting the crimes again. Instead these soft hearted liberals think every soul can be saved and every rapist can be rehabilitated. Our Country has a week justice system the criminals have all the rights.They say the death penalty is savage, Bring back public executions and the arrest rate will come down along with over crowded jails, and tax dollars spent for inmate up keep. Not a police state just a week system.

"If the Constitution and the Union established by our forefathers" were "restored" then there will be no truer supporters of that union and that Constitution than the Southern people. Every brave people who considered their rights attacked and their Constitutional liberties invaded, would have done as we did. Our conduct was not caused by any insurrectionary spirit nor can it be termed rebellion, for our construction of the Constitution under which we lived and acted was the same from its adoption and for eighty years we have been taught and educated by the founders of the Republic and their written declaration which controlled our consciences and actions."(General R.E. Lee)

Your just being nice to these guy's...child molesters and rapist ...
Need to apply the old school method here...
Tie them to a tree...Cut off their ''privates''...
and force down their throat...Let them ''choke'' to death...

Don't forget the reason the arrest rate is so high as fast as thugs are locked up sharp dressed lawyers on the working mans dime and liberal judges let them go. I see it every day, pick one out of the crowd and do a check and see haow many times in a year that same person has been locked up, ti's public record. I have arrested the same guy five times for the same type of crime (Buglary) in a week and he would beat me back to the County out on bond. If we enforced our laws like other Countries cut the hands off for stealing, shoot child molesters and rapist they would think twice before comitting the crimes again. Instead these soft hearted liberals think every soul can be saved and every rapist can be rehabilitated. Our Country has a week justice system the criminals have all the rights.They say the death penalty is savage, Bring back public executions and the arrest rate will come down along with over crowded jails, and tax dollars spent for inmate up keep. Not a police state just a week system.

The reason our incarceration rate is higher than Iran or China's is very simple. They only put you in jail for Political Reasons. For criminal reasons they just EXECUTE THE CRIMINALS!!! An, the reason the number of prisoners in the USA is so high is for the exact opposite of one of Chelloveck's reasons. See the treehugging "oh he not bad, he just misunderstood" Liberals have changed Prison into Rehabilitation instead of Punishment.

Now which would make you less want to commit a crime if you knew you would get caught...

#1 You'd be in a cold, dark cell, sleeping on a cold hard bunk, after having worked like a dog from sun up to sun down and only getting plain simple food for meals, & this would last the Many Many Many Years of your imprisonment with no hope of early release or parole until your full sentence was completed.

#2 You'd get a comfy cot because you mentioned to the Free Doctor your back ached. Higher quality & quantity food than you ever had when you worked for a living. Free Healthcare and Dental. Be taking College courses to advance your education between your daily Therapy with the shrink whom you'd BS into believing you committed crimes because you felt unloved as a child, an as a result he would try to get you paroled after a mere few months of your sentence.

What you call Being Paranoid, I call Paying Attention!!!

No Man can know Every Thing He'll ever need to know about Prepping. But with prior planning he can have that knowledge at his fingertips so that he has it when he needs it.

Just some stats for you to "mull over": 80% of all convicts are repeat offenders---there is no rehibilitation that works. An attorney bud said that he made his living off crooks and scum. He gets big bucks to get them reduced sentences, new trials, or off with just probation/etc. He said that about every six months they are right back in his office with more money. The "justice system" is the biggest money maker in the county. $125 court cost + fines +legal beagle fees + probation costs. Then if it goes to superior court the costs more than double all the way around. You can easily see how one courtroom can generate hundreds of thousands of dollars. They do not want to keep the scum in long as they know they will be right back paying them big bucks.

This is a police $tate, our government under the con$ultation with corporate amerika, creates laws that $erve the $tate and the corporation and NOT the people.

Would you consider Nazi Germany a police state?

The state passed laws that made Jews less than human (took away rights and deprived them of property and liberties).

Did corporations and the state conspire to create a new industry to dispose of sub humans?

You betcha from chemical companies (bayer) for the poison gas to construction companies for the crematories and facilities (siemens, AEG, Topf). I think if one were to dig deep one might find that the US had companies that participated by supplying materials, engineering insight to the Nazis.

but they used their own government labor (police, SS, Gestapo ) to manage the inmates.

Here in Amerika, we just keep the inmate$ behind the wire and don't kill them (unless of course you exclude the home $tate of Rick Perry and a few others)

In my opinion there are more $imilaritie$ between Amerika and a police $tate than difference$. But I could be wrong.

The reason our incarceration rate is higher than Iran or China's is very simple. They only put you in jail for Political Reasons. For criminal reasons they just EXECUTE THE CRIMINALS!!! An, the reason the number of prisoners in the USA is so high is for the exact opposite of one of Chelloveck's reasons. See the treehugging "oh he not bad, he just misunderstood" Liberals have changed Prison into Rehabilitation instead of Punishment.

Now which would make you less want to commit a crime if you knew you would get caught...

#1 You'd be in a cold, dark cell, sleeping on a cold hard bunk, after having worked like a dog from sun up to sun down and only getting plain simple food for meals, & this would last the Many Many Many Years of your imprisonment with no hope of early release or parole until your full sentence was completed.
#1 1/2 You got clothes, matress, blanket, bowl for eating grool, and toiletrees only if YOUR family or friends brought them.

In my rural neighborhood, we had a 4 man burglery crew 17 to 20 years old. Local LEO's knew all about them. Same revolving door no justice system you spoke of. Victims can make a difference. LEO's could help if they encouraged victims to do what I did. 2 of the 4 man crew hit my place during a 3 hour window when we were away. They got me for about $10,000 in cash, jewelry, guns, liquor, luggage. This was before I had an alarm system or a good gun safe. In Florida, to get the rap sheets on these 4 individuals I had to pay $15 per search whether it turned out that they had a record or not. One had none, One had 15 charges he had already been to court on and plead to. 7 of them felonys. In the 3 years this one had been an adult he had been placed on probation for 6 months 3 times, had violated multiple times each probation period and never had his probation revoked. I started files on all 4 and kept my ear to the ground. The oldest, the ring leader, the genius with 15 convictions in 3 years got busted 5 additional times in the next year, and bonded out each time for $30,000 or less. His momma absolutely doted on this piece of crap. His Momma and daddy ran a local Bed and Breakfast about 2/3 mile from my place as the crow flies. Ring leader and his number 2 were at a pawn shop about 30 miles away trying to pawn a mixed gas diving rig, and a chain saw. We have a lot of cave divers in this area. Pawn shop owner buys the chain saw, and gives them a story about researching the value of the mixed gas rig, goes thru the manufacturer and finds the name of the local owner of the rig. He calls the owner, then the police, and the 2 stupid crooks get arrested, and go to jail. The owner of the mixed gas rig was a friend of mine. Same day his burglers got arrested and I heard about it, I tossed my files on his desk, and his temper exploded. We had this piece of crap on the street committing 6 crimes without being held accountable at all or so it seemed. 5 counties, 5 different LEO units and 3 judicial districts were involved in this spree with only the last incident being a repeat. The right hand had no idea what the left hand was doing. I had compiled files on all this crap. My friend who was the new victim with me providing the teleprompter called the States attorney for the first crime and laid it all out for hime along with a WTF question, and the statement that this was outragious and that he was considering going to the media. This was Friday afternoon about 3 pm. The states attorney said he could help us by telling us what to do, or he and his staff would get on it monday, and by that time they would probably be out on the street. To help us he took notes on all we told him, and did some research on his own by phone and then called us back. Bottom line he provided the names of all 5 of the prior crime bondsmen and their phone numbers. As the States attorney advised, we called all the bondsmen and laid it out for them along with the stupid crooks latest caper and where and when they would be coming before a judge for a bail hearing Saturday morning. My friend and I were sitting in that court room the next morning. All bail bonds for these guys were revoked and the info as to why was in the hands of the judge before these clowns came before him. This time they were going to have to come up with a total for the 2 of them of $605,000 bail to see the street. They stayed in jail until they were convicted and went to prison. They only got 3 years, and had to serve 2 because their time in jail counted. During the time they were in prison, Florida passed a new manditory system for computing sentences. These two guy hit the streets in fall of 2001. The new sentencing law went into effect 1 july 2001. The ringleader commits a simple burglery and gets caught 6 weeks after getting out. New sentencing..... LOL .... ya got to love it. Each felony conviction is 20 points. 360 points get you life for spitting on the sidewalk. The ringleader going into court this time, has no less than 160 points. He got 15 years. He has to serve at least 85%. He is still in prison. At times the system works a little.

* Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply.** Resistance to Tyrants, is obedience to God. * Thomas Jefferson*Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property... Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them.* Thomas Paine

When it takes that long to get tangible results, I'd say the system is totally FUBAR. Where is the big red reset button...oh there it is the one marked "Revolution".

"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail."- Ben Franklin

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. - Robert A. Heinlein - "Time Enough For Love"

I have a universal translator. A large bore rifle. It speaks louder than words and will translate you to the afterlife instantly. - Self

It would solve alot of the worlds problems some people are just born evil.

Oh no I agree Big Brother is trying anyway possible to force us all including police officers to live our life in a police state goverment and the bad thing they are doing it right out in plain view and some people are just to blind to see. I just don't agree that the prison statistics can be used to show that. As for Big Brother when he tries to bring me in under the control of a Police State all I can say is I WAS BORN A FREE MAN AND WILL DIE A FREE MAN..

"If the Constitution and the Union established by our forefathers" were "restored" then there will be no truer supporters of that union and that Constitution than the Southern people. Every brave people who considered their rights attacked and their Constitutional liberties invaded, would have done as we did. Our conduct was not caused by any insurrectionary spirit nor can it be termed rebellion, for our construction of the Constitution under which we lived and acted was the same from its adoption and for eighty years we have been taught and educated by the founders of the Republic and their written declaration which controlled our consciences and actions."(General R.E. Lee)

I am a big supporter of Capital Punishment for the truly heinous offenders.
But the worst problem with taking their life is it takes too danged long. So many people oppose it because they no longer remember the crime the peprp committed - as much as fifteent to twenty years before. If the family of a murdered loved one could see true justice done within ONE year of the crime, then others would understand the true animal nature of the perp. Supporting him for two decades, making appeal after appeal, on the tax-payer's dime - this is a true crime too.
Many people, on the other hand, go to prison for the wrong reason - like the poor idiot caught with a little MJ. He should be punished, but not put into the prison system.
Drug dealers for the hard stuff - I'd give them Capital Punishment. They are killing our people. Just as surely as shooting or knifing, but on a larger but less visible scale.
Chell - mandatory sentencing is NOT the problem - the lack of any true 'punishment' is. When Homie goes into stir, it's "Old Home Week", an effing 'family reunion'! A huge segment of our population takes a prison sentence as a 'badge of honor'. THAT must change before any real progress can be made.

Please use correct English. Show the world Americans aren't illiterate.
There, their, they're are different words. Use them properly.
Lose and loose have different meanings.
"Im" and "Ill" mean nothing without the apostrophe.
Capitalization and punctuation are your friends.
Text-speak and hashtags get you into the ignore list.
Commas are NOT your friend when used in large herds......

Our economy relies on the penal system as a significant market share. We have droves of lawyers and lobbyist to insure a constant flow of new laws to violate so we always be assured there is an ample supply of prisoners to keep the system growing. We not only have the construction of facilities to maintain, but maintenance services, the garment industry for clothing, medical industry to insure our prisoners are taken care of, food service industry to feed them, the list goes on and on...this is big business and a viable portion of the Military Industrial Complex that actually governs what used to be a free Republic. You see, when WW ll ended, we had all these great Generals with no real war to fight so they became involved with the defense industry and create their own market share by starting wars to feed their factories....That is why i do not support our "Troops" and why I do not buy into the MIC's claim that they are sacrificing to preserve our freedom and way of life, although I suppose through the eyes of their share holders, this is sort of true, but has ****-all to do with preserving anything related to Liberty and the Nation that once was the Bastion of the Free World.

"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficient. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding."
-- Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis

I read an article about six months ago and it was talking about over populated prisons and the stress it was putting on the system. It takes an average of $30,000.00 per year per Inmate for up keep. I knoww some people who are working 40hrs a week to feed a family and not making that much. I had a guy tell me one time when I was questioning him about a simple crime I think it was maybe shoplifting what was his reason for doing it in this store because he knew he would get caught. The store had a good camera set up, the guy said I have a tooth that needs pulled and don't have insurance. He went on to tell me how with his record every time he gets caught it,s a six month stretch and you have to be in jail over 30 days before they will help you. Now think of the ones that we are paying for like Charlie Manson and so on (why?) they will never be productive citizens. The long walk to the gallows will let him reflect on his wrong doing's and the pull of a lever he will be a burden or threat to anyone no more. Our system has got to the point they will give a man who is found with a little weed one or two years for his personal use of weed and the homey selling crack to school kids on the play ground gets home confinement. Because he is a victim too.

"If the Constitution and the Union established by our forefathers" were "restored" then there will be no truer supporters of that union and that Constitution than the Southern people. Every brave people who considered their rights attacked and their Constitutional liberties invaded, would have done as we did. Our conduct was not caused by any insurrectionary spirit nor can it be termed rebellion, for our construction of the Constitution under which we lived and acted was the same from its adoption and for eighty years we have been taught and educated by the founders of the Republic and their written declaration which controlled our consciences and actions."(General R.E. Lee)

The Police break down your door for non-violent crimes, and flash-bang you and point an M16 in your face. Military tactics are being used on the populace. SWAT and Police raids are trained by retired Mil special forces.

Police have immunity from prosecution. Not legally, but for all practical purposes, yes.

The Patriot Act! It will just keep getting voted in. Our children won't know what their rights are. There is a HUGE national security apparatus, and they are spying on you. American citizens are experiencing detention without charges, black site prisons, harassment, illegal search and seizure, phone tapping. The Gov reads your email. The "Terrorists" the Patriot Act addresses don't exist the way they want you to believe. It's FEAR = POWER. The "Terrorists" that the PA is being used against is more often anti-war activists and other non-violent activists, AKA Patriots.

The security sector is getting better guns, better weapons to be used against unruly citizens. Sound cannons, microwave emitters, tear gas. They have TONS of it and want to use it.

If you think for one second that you still have your rights, you think you have liberty? Your wrong! They take them away from people every day who refuse to cooperate with "the plan".

So, we do live in a Police State. Sure, it's not sitting on your face, most citizens of the Corporation are ignorant, but that's because we really haven't begun to step out of line.

If you think for one second that you still have your rights, you think you have liberty? Your wrong! They take them away from people every day who refuse to cooperate with "the plan".

So, we do live in a Police State. Sure, it's not sitting on your face, most citizens of the Corporation are ignorant, but that's because we really haven't begun to step out of line.

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You aren't cooperating by stating this on a public forum, yet you are still here.

Sorry, I don't buy the police state jazz. Its nothing but fiery rhetoric. The same tactics and weapons that some are complaining about are the same tactics and weapons that most us Monkeys own and use. Its some sort of a double standard in that we expect the police to get mowed down armed with revolvers while we are armed to teeth to protect against the same sort of evilness in the world. I am a freedom-loving American that believes everyone has the right to self defense, even the police. If you don't like the tactics, try using the "watered down" one handed shooting techniques with a 6-shooter against an a-hole on dope and toting a Glock.

Is there misuses of authority, sure. There always is. Is there far more respect of citizens that misuse of authority? Absolutely. Anyone that conveniently ignores the fact that we are on a public forum talking freely about a possible "police state" needs to reconsider their position. There is far more theoretical talk than actualities here. If you ALL are posting from a prison computer at the American Political Prison, I stand corrected. I don't believe that is the case.

An increase in incarceration is not an indicator. First, you have to consider the numbers. Does every country believe in openness at trial or do people simple "vanish"? Who made Iran's numbers? Is it in the country's best interests to accurately post such numbers? Having seen my fair share of foreign police officers, I'd say the second reason is easily we have the best police departments in the world, not to mention capabilities. Barney Fife is 10x better than the average Iraqi policeman. Mostly in that he actually gives a crap. In so many other places, a police man is no more than a gov't check-the-box or another place for a dictator to place a distant relative. Most the time, they've had no formalized police training- forget about POST certification. Can you still find that in backwoods USA? Sure, but not to the degree I am talking here.

More random police bashing here on Monkeys. Draw the line, its helpful

"Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: [...] as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."Joshua 24:15

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"As a friend says, always reach first for the obvious answer in a puzzle. If you hear hoof-beats, think horses, not zebras."